Power play goals edge No. 5 Bulldogs 3-0 over St. Thomas in home opener

Behind three power play goals, the No. 5 University of Minnesota Duluth women's ice hockey team took care of business in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on Friday afternoon, defeating the University of St. Thomas 3-0 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota .

The Bulldogs' first home opener was a good one for the home team, thanks in part to a three-point performance from the forward Clara Van Wierenwho scored a power play goal and added two assists as a senior blueliner Hanna Baskin added to assists.

“I’m so happy for the girls, I thought overall it was a really good game,” head coach said Laura Schuler after their first home win. “They're a really good team and thank God our special team play was exactly what we needed as far as our penalty kill where we keep the puck out of the net and our power play where we got three goals. There are definitely things we have. We need to get better on offense, I don't think our offensive play on the blueline is what it needs to be, so we need to make improvements there.”

UMD, which outscored the Tommies 19-5 in the first period, broke through midway through the frame Clara Van Wieren Click on an entry Olivia Wallin under the circle, and the senior forward blindly hit the puck with his backhand Caitlin Kraemer He ran through the slot and took a 1-0 lead on the Bulldogs' first power play.

UST managed to outscore UMD 12-10 in the second frame, but the third period was entirely dedicated to the Bulldogs, starting with a second power ball at 5:43 on a one-time wrist shot from Olivia Mobley in the slot and extended the lead to 2-0. Mobley, who scored her third goal in two games, got the feed from Baskin, the first of her two helpers, and Van Wieren.

Exactly two minutes later, Van Wieren sank her own goal, and after skating the length of the ice, she fired it past Tommies goaltender Calla Frank's extended goal line and the near post for her fourth goal of the season.

Eve Gascon made 27 saves for her eighth career shutout and first of the season, while Frank had 41 for UST, which suffered its first loss of the season and falls to 4-1 and 2-1 in the WCHA. The Bulldogs, who outscored the Tommies 44-27 in the skate, went 3 of 4 on their power play while holding UST scoreless on two attempts.

The Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2) will look to win the series tomorrow afternoon at AMSOIL. The puck is scheduled to drop at 2 p.m

Bulldog Notes: UMD remains undefeated against the Tommies all-time with a record of 12-0-1…The Bulldogs last scored on three power plays two seasons ago, on February 17, 2023 against Bemidji State University… Clara Van Wieren has now played five games in her career in which she has scored five points… her three-point mark is a season high… Hanna Baskin extended her point streak to four games…the senior defenseman has recorded four assists in her last four skates.